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Animated TV series don’t often receive lavish ‘art of’ book treatment, but Adventure Time is unlike your average TV show. Next Tuesday, October 14, Abrams will release the massive 352-page Adventure Time: The Art of Ooo, documenting the show’s visual and creative process. The book was authored and designed by Cartoon Brew’s very own Chris McDonnell, who is the editor of our popular Artist of the Day section. The following images represent a small sample of the 500-plus images that will be included in the book. Click to enlarge and read the captions. Pre-order Adventure Time: The Art of Ooo on Amazon for $24.92. (All images TM and © 2014 Cartoon Network.)

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Cartoon Brew is expanding its editorial staff. Today we welcome four contributing writers to the website. The new roster of writers each promise to bring passionate knowledge and a unique point of view into the animation discussion.

Cartoon Brew’s investment in editorial talent allows the site to further position itself as the leading animation news and commentary website while reaffirming its commitment to covering a wide range of ideas and issues related to the animation community.

The four writers will focus on specific areas of the ever-expanding animation art form: Chris McDonnell will explore the intersection of animation and illustration art, Chappell Ellison will look at design culture in animation, Michael Ruocco will explore the development of animation techniques and classic animation created by the art form’s masters, and C.Edwards will provide coverage of industry trends and the lighter side of animation’s impression on popular culture.

As the site’s 9th anniversary approaches next week, we’re thrilled to mark the beginning of a new era in Cartoon Brew’s ongoing evolution. But first, let’s do some introductions:

CHRIS MCDONNELL works on television and book projects. He has created animation for shows such as Brody Stevens: Enjoy It!, Eagleheart, Portlandia, Yo Gabba Gabba, Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!, and Tom Goes to the Mayor. Chris’s books include Sasquatch’s Big Hairy Drawing Book and Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi. He teaches an “Intro to 2D computer animation” class at the University of the Arts and works from his studio, McD Workshop, in Philadelphia. Chris is a founding member of the Meathaus comics/art collective and posts at Meathaus.com and publishes anthologies of sketchbooks and comics.

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CHAPPELL ELLISON is an award-winning design writer and critic based in Brooklyn, New York. In addition to contributing to various publications, she has lent her editorial skills to several visual arts-based institutions and companies, including the Museum of Modern Art, Design Observer, Etsy and the Museum of the Moving Image. Chappell regularly lectures at universities and currently teaches at the School of Visual Arts. She blogs often and tweets twice as much.

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MICHAEL RUOCCO is a recent graduate from the animation program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He lives in Burbank, California where he works as an artist in the animation industry. As an aspiring animation historian, Michael has assisted on several animation-related books including The Art of Brave and the forthcoming Full Steam Ahead: The Life and Art of Ward Kimball. He founded and edits Smears, Multiples and Animation Gimmicks on Tumblr, which has over 100,000 subscribers.

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C.EDWARDS is a New York-based writer and cartoonist who has animated on award winning projects for national broadcast on a variety of networks, including ABC, CBS, PBS, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. He served as a contributing writer of arts and culture editorial for publications like the New York Press, CityArts and The West Side Spirit as well as the websites Out and Queerty. He spends his time tweeting, singing songs from Don Bluth’s Thumbelina, hunting down the perfect Ursula statuette, and writing and drawing his nationally syndicated alt-comic strip, Abel Boddy.

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Publisher’s synopsis: This hilarious and inventive drawing book by animator Chris McDonnell features page after page of off-the-wall gags and fillin doodle prompts. McDonnell’s infectious humor recalls MAD magazine at its finest. Ideal for an instant laugh or for anyone looking to spark their creative side, this interactive volume is the ultimate resource for fun with pen and paper.

Add this book to your collection: Sasquatch’s Big, Hairy Drawing Book

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©2011 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

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My favorite publisher Chronicle Books recently announced their fall publishing line-up and it includes three books that may be of interest to Brew readers:

A first of its kind book: Setting the Scene: The Art & Development of Animation Layout by Fraser MacLean. I haven’t seen anything from it, but I know Fraser has been working his tail off to finish the book. It promises to be a comprehensive examination of animation layout practices, both past and present.

Sasquatch’s Big Hair Drawing Book by Chris McDonnell. Chris has worked on animated series like Yo Gabba Gabba! and Tom Goes To The Mayor and also designed Bill Plympton’s new coffeetable art book. His drawing activity book should be something like this.

The Art of Pixar: The Complete Color Scripts and Select Art from 25 Years of Animation by Amid Amidi. Yes, that’s me. But even though my name is on the cover, there won’t be a whole lot of my writing in the book. The book is almost entirely artwork, which is exactly as it should be since it’s called The Art of Pixar. It’ll be all kinds of classy.

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Cartoon Brew: Leading the Animation Conversation | Permalink | No comment | Post tags: Amid Amidi, Chris McDonnell, Fraser MacLean

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